Full Moon Festival
by FlipoutPenguin
Summary: On the night of the full moon, Rick broods alone atop Mother's Hill and expects to stay alone.  However, he soon finds that someone has the same idea, and he'll make an even greater discovery about her before the night is up... RickxClaire


And at last, another non-lemon gets posted. I've been wanting to do a Rick story for a looong time. He's my favorite MFoMT bachelor, after all... xD Don't know what compelled me to base it off one of the in-game festivals, but it just seemed to fit. So there ya go. Not much else to say, except it gets a bit corny near the end. Bear with me because I'm not as used to writing non-lemons yet... No author's note at the end. Hope you enjoy!

xxxxx

At the peak of Mother's Hill, a chicken farmer sat and stared up at the sky, gazing at the stars and keeping a lookout for the moon, which was currently hidden by a thick mass of nighttime cloud cover.

Rick didn't really know what brought him out here this night. It was the Full Moon Festival, after all- a _date_ festival. Who, really, would bother coming up here to watch the moon with him? He didn't have a girlfriend. His best friend Karen was at the bar, and nearly every other girl his age who lived in Mineral Town had a boyfriend... So who would have him?

"No one, that's who," he responded to thin air.

"No one what?" said a voice from behind.

He gave a start at the sudden sound and twisted around and up to see who was behind him. There, standing in green overalls with an oversized scarf draped over her shoulders, stood one of his good friends, the local farmer Claire. She stared down at him with large blue eyes through her long curtain of reflective blonde hair, grinning broadly, though confusedly, at him just because she could. He hadn't even heard her footsteps he had been so lost in thought.

"C-Claire!" he exclaimed with a flush of embarrassment, adjusting his glasses where they had gone crooked when he jumped.

She lifted her hand without a word and gave a little wave, retaining her cheery smile.

"What, ah… What brings you here tonight?" he asked cautiously, swiping a hunk of ginger bangs from his forehead to get a clearer look at her.

She jammed her hands into her pockets and lifted her head to stare at the stars twinkling overhead. "Oh, nothing in particular. Just thought I'd come out to see the moon since it's, ya know, the Full Moon Festival and everything…"

"Ah…"

Rick immediately checked behind her for signs of a second person, but there was no one. Had she come out here alone? Should he ask her?

"So," he began nonchalantly, turning back to face forward, "I guess your date is late, huh?" he said with a short laugh.

She giggled a bit herself and then lowered her face to look at the back of his head. "Nah, I don't have one. But that can't stop me from coming out here, right?" she said optimistically. She saw him silently nod as he continued to look out over the mountain's edge. She took the last few steps to reach him, plopped down only inches away from him, and said, "Mind if I sit with ya?"

He smiled softly and shook his head at her. "Like you have to ask when you've already sat down…"

She giggled again and made to stand back up. "I'm sorry, would you like me to leave?" she asked jokingly.

"No, no!" he replied hastily. He knew she was joking, but he didn't want to be reminded that he had been alone up here not thirty seconds ago.

She laughed again, and then, "Is _your_ date late?" she asked innocently.

Well, so much for forgetting… He shook his head without bothering to look at her. "I'm like you. I just felt like coming out to see the moon."

He glanced at her, using his peripheral vision, searching for any signs of a negative reaction. Her expression remained the same.

"So, where's Karen?" she asked conversationally.

"Oh, you know…" he said lamely with a shrug.

"At the bar?"

"Yyyup…"

Claire laughed, and, surprisingly, he found himself laughing too, and the tension was broken. For a while, they sat together and just talked, about Claire's crops, about Rick's family, about how the chicken she had just recently bought from him was faring in her care- anything that came to mind.

And then the lovely atmosphere was interrupted when a chilly wind swept through and Rick gave a shiver and hugged himself for warmth. Hiking up a hill at night in mid-fall without wearing the proper garments probably wasn't one of his best ideas… And then…

"Here," and he found himself being enfolded with something woolen and thick. It took him all of three seconds staring at the pattern before he realized he had been wrapped in the scarf that had hung semi-loosely around Claire's neck. He turned to her, ready to protest the removal of the garment from her own neck, but was surprised to see the patterned piece of work still resting over her shoulders. It was then that he realized just how long the scarf really was: They were sharing. He felt his cheeks warm, which had not been caused by the scarf that now held them together.

"Uh… Thanks!" he offered dumbly.

"Don't mention it…" she replied, raising a hand and waving it in a brush-off manner.

Another blast of wind surged over the hill, and the two raised their eyes and saw the dark clouds begin to part, revealing slow rays of light from the full moon, which was beginning to show brilliantly above them. Rick stared up at it in wonder, surprisingly happy at the way the evening's events had played out. He was glad Claire could be there with him to see such a sight.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" he said absentmindedly.

"It really is," she replied, sounding entranced.

He turned once more to look at her. Not having noticed that he was now facing her, she continued to gaze skyward, a serene expression gracing her features as a fraction of the light shone on her face. Her golden hair shimmered as it fanned around her, and her eyes, glazed with enjoyment, appeared brighter than he ever remembered seeing them before.

He was now fully aware of just how close together they were sitting and wondered if Claire had inched in further to close the gap that separated their shoulders when she had wrapped her scarf around him. Their hands rested centimeters apart. His heart thudded in his chest.

"Yeah," he found himself replying, and he knew that he was no longer talking about the moon. "It really is…" He had not taken his eyes off of her.

It was this vision before him that made him realize what he should have long ago: She was beautiful.

And he loved her.


End file.
